We’ll be covering the recently-released Playstation 3 Top Gun title later in the week, but before then, here are a few questions we fired over to the original scriptwriter of both movie and videogame, Jack Epps Jr:
7outof10: First things first, how did you come to be involved with the Top Gun videogame adaptation, and did you have any hesitation over revisiting the franchise?
Jack Epps Jr: Paramount called and asked if I had any interest in writing the Top Gun game. I had no hesitation in becoming involved. Top Gun is a very personal project for me, and I’d rather I do it than anyone else.
How did your writing process differ as a collaboration with a game developer as opposed to a solo project?
I wrote the film originally with my partner, Jim Cash, so I’m very comfortable with collaboration. I’ve also had several films produced and I enjoy working with directors. The whole director writer antagonism is way overblown. I enjoy working with smart creative minds. It’s like a high. The designers and developers at Paramount and DoubleSix were really smart and fun to work with. We traded ideas back and forth. It was an excellent collaboration.
What was your jumping-off point for the new story, and how did you decide the best route to flesh out the details?
A lot of the assets were already in the works when I came on board. It’s one of my pet peeves about gaming. The developers bring writers in way too late in the process. They should bring writers on day one to help flesh out the world and the game. I really enjoy world design from a narrative point of view, and think it would help the entire process.
How do you think the game has turned out? Would you consider revisiting the franchise again?
Top Gun is a very personal story for me, different than any other script I wrote. Yes, I would revisit it again if I thought I was bringing something new to the material. I think we did this with the game. We expanded what was the third act in the film, in the game. Most of the game takes place in the Indian Ocean, and I brought some new narrative elements, and emotional elements to that part of the story.
At the time, would you have believed that Top Gun would still be loved 25 years after it was originally made?
When I first became inspired to write the movie I thought we had a unique visual world to write about. The more I researched the project the more deeply I became involved. I thought we had a good shot of having a hit film, but I never thought this would have such a long life. It’s really much bigger than anything I imagined. I think it’s the fan’s movie. They have really owned it and made it theirs. I enjoyed the way the language is part of the vernacular. I hear it quoted all the time. Crash and burned. Target rich environment. Edge of the envelope, and of course all the lines that get quotes: “I feel the need… the need for speed”. These guys talk this way, and we just put it down.
Did you get to visit the set during filming and if so, which scenes did you get to see?
I was not on the set very much. I was writing Legal Eagles at the time and was under the gun to get the script out. I saw a lot of the NAS Miramar shooting – the flying and tarmac scenes.
Was there anything in the script that was cut that you’d have like to have seen in the final movie and can you reveal anything that ended up on the cutting room floor or left out of the script?
The script was cut down pretty tightly. There were scenes in the first draft where after Maverick had his failure of confidence, he went out and stole his plane and tried to fly it closer and closer to a mountain to gain his confidence. It was cut and I think they were right. Didn’t need it.
Where do you think Maverick is today? Still teaching at Top Gun?
Good question. If Maverick were still in the Navy he might be teaching, or he might be a strategic planning of special missions. He would probably have something very unique to do with flying – dangerous – because he is dangerous – and out of the ordinary.
When writing the famous “I feel the need…” and “you can be my wingman any time” quotes, did you envisage those becoming the hugely popular catchphrases they ended up as?
No. We made a decision to never explain a single line of dialogue. When I did research I couldn’t understand what they were saying, so we used lines the pilots used. And also, tried to capture the excitement of the world. It’s still great. I love to hear the thunder of military jets taking off. The pilots would call it the sound of freedom.
Could you ever see a Top Gun sequel being made or is the original more likely to get the remake treatment?
Everyone talks about sequels, but I think it’s a little past it now. Maybe in 1988 or 1990 we could have done a good one, but I think it wouldn’t work. Works as a game because it’s a different media experience. Doesn’t tread the exact same territory. As for a remake, I don’t think It’s possible without going digital and that just won’t cut it on the screen. Also, I doubt we could get the same Navy cooperation we had in 1985. I think it’s a better idea to turn up the surround sound and enjoy the original.
Many thanks to Jack Epps Jr, and also to Dave over at HeyuGuys for being an official Bruckheimer nut.
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